Lock control devices, notably of automobile doors



L. PERAS Sept. 28, 1965 LOCK CONTROL DEVICES, NOTABLY OF AUTOMOBILE DOORS Filed June 6, 1962 In van {or Lac/fen aras United States Patent 3,268,783 LOCK CONTROL DEVICES, NOTABLY OF AUTOMOBELE DOORS Lucien Peras, Billancourt, France, assignor to Regie Nationaie des Usines Renault, Billancourt, France Filed June 6, 1962, Ser. No. 209,595

Claims priority, application France, June 14, 1961,

364,965, Patent 1,301,847 3 Claims. (Cl. 292336.3)

Door locks, notably those actuated from inside an automobile vehicle, are generally controlled by means of a handle projecting from the surface of the box-sectioned structure of the automobile door and constituting an inconvenient and sometimes dangerous projection likely to catch the driver or a passenger.

It is the object of this invention to provide a door lock control device of this type which is characterized in that the handle and the control rod are housed completely within a double-walled door, the handle being accessible only through an aperture provided to this end in the inner panel of the box-shaped door structure so that it does not project inside the vehicle.

The handle is mounted eccentrically on one end of the pivoting control rod having its opposite end provided with an eccentric pin actuating the door lock proper.

This invention will be better understood from the following description, given by way of example, of a typical embodiment thereof as applied to an automobile door having the hinges disposed along the front vertical edge and a lock control handle disposed in the vicinity of said hinges, that is, on the side opposite to the door lock, this typical embodiment being illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a vertical fragmentary section showing the mounting of a door lock according to this invention, the section being taken upon the line I-I of FIG. 2, and

FIGURE 2 is a side elevational view showing the door control mechanism as seen through the box-sectioned door structure.

As shown in the drawing, the door lock control device of this invention consists essentially of a solid or tubular cylindrical rod 1 of a length corresponding substantially to the width of the door in which it is to be mounted. This control rod 1 has one end cranked to constitute an eccentric pin or like portion 2 (which may also consist of an insert element) adapted to engage the lock control member (not shown), and its opposite end also cranked to form a longer eccentric portion 4 constituting the lock control handle proper. This rod 1 disposed between the door forming panels 7, 7 is pivotally mounted on one of these panels, for example the inner panel 7, by means of one or more bearings consisting each of a loop-shaped sheet-metal pressing or like piece secured on the panel by means of a screw 6. Along the eccentric portion 4 of rod 1, an elongated aperture 8 is formed in the inner door panel, the longer axis of this elongated aperture 8 being substantially parallel to the rod 1; the length of this aperture 8 corresponds substantially to the width of a normal hand. If desired, the cranked rod section constituting the eccentric handle 4 may be somewhat flattened to an elliptic contour 9 to facilitate its actuation by the operators fingers. A spring 10 wound spiralwise on the rod 1 and having one end anchored on the support or bearing 5 and the other end attached to the eccentric 4 constantly urges 3,208,783 Patented Sept. 28, 1965 ice the handle to its inoperative or door-closing position. Of course, the glass 13, if a sliding glass is provided, should be displaceable as consistent with the mechanism described hereinabove (thus, for instance, it may be mounted for horizontal sliding movement). This door lock control mechanism operates as follows:

The operator introduces his or her hand into the aperture 8 in the direction of the arrow F, FIG. 1, while keeping the thumb outside the aperture against the panel 7, the other four fingers of the hand engaging the eccentric portion 4, so that a moderate pressure exerted by these fingers on the eccentric is sufiicient to tilt the device from position 11 to position 12. During this movement the spring 10 is stretched and the eccentric 2 pivots about the axis of rod 1 to actuated the lock (not shown).

Of course, various modifications and alterations may be brought to the specific form of embodiment shown and described herein by way of example, without departing however from the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. Control mechanism for locking and unlocking the door of a vehicle and being located entirely within the door, comprising a cylindrical rod-like substantially horizontal control member defining first and second eccentric ends and a connecting portion between said ends defining a main axis, said first end being substantially parallel to said main axis and adapted to be pressed on as a handle for operating the control member and said second end adapted to actuate door locking and unlocking means; a panel of the door; support means on the interior of the panel to support said control member rotatably about its main axis between said ends and in a position adjacent said panel and within the interior of the door, the main axis extending substantially parallel to said panel; a horizontal, elongated aperture in said panel registering with said first end and having an approximate shape somewhat larger than the cross section of the fingers of a human hand to allow actuation of said handle by hand through said aperture, said handle extending along at least a substantial portion of said aperture and being accessible only from the interior side of the door; and a spring cooperating with said control member for biasing the handle to its inoperative position so that the handle is manually accessible adjacent the aperture.

2. The control mechanism of claim 1, wherein the handle in registry with the aperture has at least a length corresponding to the width of four fingers of a human hand.

3. The control mechanism of claim 1, wherein said panel is that of an automobile door.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,215,843 2/17 Painter et al.

1,430,330 9/22 Seaver 292 2,237,949 4/41 Palmer 292-465 2,394,646 2/46 Wagner 292214 2,766,059 10/56 Michalsky 292336.3

FOREIGN PATENTS 633,252 12/49 Great Britain.

I OSEPH D. SEERS, Primary Examiner.

M. HENSON WOOD, JR., ALBERT H. KAMPE,

Examiners. 

1. CONTROL MECHANISM FOR LOCKING AND UNLOCKING THE DOOR OF A VEHICLE AND BEING LOCATED ENTIRELY WITHIN THE DOOR COMPRISING CYLINDRICAL ROD-LIKE SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL CONTROL MEMBER DEFINING FIRST AND SECOND ECCENTRIC ENDS AND A CONNECTING PORTION BETWEEN SAID ENDS DEFINING A MAIN AXIS, SAID FIRST END BEING SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL TO SAID MAIN AXIS AND ADAPTED TO BE PRESSED ON AS A HANDLE FOR OPERATING THE CONTROL MEMBER AND SAID SECOND END ADAPTED TO ACTUATE DOOR LOCKING AND UNLOCKING MEANS; A PANEL OF THE DOOR; SUPPORT MEANS ON THE INTERIOR OF THE PANEL TO SUPPORT SAID CONTROL MEMBER ROTATABLY ABOUT ITS MAIN AXIS BETWEEN SAID ENDS AND IN A POSITION ADJACENT SAID PANEL AND WITHIN THE INTERIOR OF THE DOOR, THE MAIN AXIS 